GALLERY / HOLY MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD
Holy Men and Women of God
The Catholic Church teaches that the saints, especially those that the church recognizes, are the “witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom”. As such, the virgins, martyrs, doctors, and patrons of our Church are also, aside from Jesus, Mary and Joseph, “our models of prayer”.
In an interview, Baldwin Navarro, devotee from Boljoon, pinpoints to a revered role with which we regard the saints, something that we have always been taught about them: “ang atong mga santos nga (gi)deboto matod pa sa among katigulangan maoy mangabogado alang kanato inig-abot sa gingharian sa langit.” (The saints who we show devotion to, according to our ancestors, will advocate for us when the kingdom of heaven comes.)
It is this teaching about the saints as our advocates and intercessors that we get to know them. Throughout the archdiocese the research team for this project documented testimonies of miracles attributed to the patron saints and faith experiences fostered through their intercession.
San Guillermo de Aquitania, patron saint of Dalaguete, has figured in the folk imagination as stories of his image thwarting a moro raid are still being told to this day. John Philip Lenares retells this story: “Makit-an kuno nila sa belfry namo nga si San Guillermo nagdala og canyon nga nagtuyok-tuyok sa babaw sa kampanaryo, sa among belfry. So mura siya pod ang great protector gyod sa amoang church diri sa Dalaguete.” (They said they could see San Guillermo bringing a canyon and going around the top of the belltower. So it seems that he is a great protector of our church and here in Dalaguete.)
Santo Tomas de Villanueva’s image in Danao City is also regarded as miraculous and is attributed with these miracles: a storm surge did not affect the church where his image is placed at the façade and all the patients afflicted with a local diarrhea outbreak were healed when his image was brought around the source of water and the local hospital.
Michael Bacus, Sacristan Mayor of San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish of Cebu City, says the image of San Nicolas de Tolentino is what he truly treasures. He witnessed the faith experiences of San Nicolas devotees and had himself experienced a miracle when his child, who was already in dengue shock, was healed through San Nicolas’s intercession.
Amidst these extraordinary narratives are stories of ordinary acts of devotion – how the whole town came out to wait for the arrival of the image of their patroness, how devotees flock to touch and venerate the processional image of their town’s patron during the fiesta, or how supplicants line up at a chapel patiently waiting for their turn at the patunob.
This gallery of the images of the holy men and women of God is ultimately a collection of testimonies of the people and their beloved saints. When asked if the images of the saints should be preserved, Bacus answered: “Yes, kay part man gihapon sa atong Catholic faith, kay ato gyod na, kay sagrado man na sila, unya dili na pwedi nga yama-yamaan. Mao nang ato gyod na siya ibutang sa iyang butanganan kay natural nakita man sa mga tawo, matag tawo, matag pamilya. Mao nga ato gyod nang limpyohan, ato gyod na siyang gamon kay sagrado man, kay pinaagi anang imahen nadugtong atong pagtuo ni Kristo.” (Yes, because it is still part of our Catholic faith, because it is ours, because they are sacred, and they cannot be desecrated. That is why we should put him in his proper place because people see it naturally, every person, every family. That is why we are going to clean it, we should take care of it because it is sacred, because through that image our faith is connected to Christ.)
SAN VICENTE FERRER OF BOGO CITY
By Joanalyn P. Gabales
A constant source of puzzlement about representations of San Vicente Ferrer are his wings. Why does Saint Vincent have wings? I always ask. Is he an angel?
Let’s take a look at how this representation of the miraculous San Vicente Ferrer from the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer in Bogo City, Cebu shows some of the many attributes always associated with him.
As a Dominican friar, he is usually depicted as tonsured, or having a clean-shaven crown that is usually worn by clergymen and members of religious orders. Also, he is always depicted wearing the black-and-white habit of the Order of Preachers. The statue from Bogo City, indeed, shows Saint Vincent in a Dominican habit with a shaven crown.
His left hand always carries a book, which is most likely the Holy Scripture. In many representations, the book is open with visible writings on it. For the Bogo City statue, however, the book is closed. His right hand either always points to Heaven or is holding a tongue of fire. Both gestures refer to Saint Vincent being a preacher. As a monk belonging to the Order of Preachers, he was an inimitable one. Many people were converted and followed him after hearing his sermons. He was said to have preached only in Latin or his native tongue, but he could be understood by people who only speak other languages. Another astounding gift is his ability to make himself heard by people from a faraway distance when he delivers his speeches and sermons.
He was especially known to preach about the last judgment and the need for penance. Because of this, San Vicente Ferrer came to be known as the “angel of judgment”. This last attribute is the reason why part of Saint Vincent’s iconography depicts him with angel wings. Certainly, the San Vicente Ferrer of Bogo City that has a set of silver wings shows this popular image of the saint.
The last element of the image of the patron saint of Bogo City that needs to be mentioned is the base of the sculpture itself. The base, which is in the shape of a globe, holds the saint’s holy relic. This is the reason, then, for this image to be one placed at the hagkanan of the parish church, which has become a pilgrim site for the devotees of San Vicente Ferrer. We imagine the hagkanan as one of the destinations that the devotees go to in order to fulfill their panaad or promise to give thanksgiving.
God graced Saint Vincent Ferrer with many gifts that miracles were attributed to him during his lifetime. The belief in miracles attributed to Saint Vincent remains today especially in the practice called patunob. As part of the healing rite, San Vicente Ferrer’s image is brought to touch on the heads or the ailing body part of the devotee who is seeking for a cure. This happens on a Thursday, the day dedicated to Saint Vincent.
During his lifetime, San Vicente Ferrer lived an exemplary life of religious poverty and austerity. He was a preacher and missionary who attracted and led his followers to God. To this day, Bogo City’s illustrious patron saint continues to win souls for God as his devotees attest to the many petitions answered in his intercession.
